1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an antenna engaging mechanism in a wireless communication device.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Generally, the most important scheme of a wireless communication device having an external antenna is to fix the antenna to the wireless communication device tightly. For example, a mobile phone and its external antenna are fixed tightly to avoid loss the transmission of signals, meanwhile, the antenna is not easy to be accidently removed by the user and thus prevents the antenna from being damaged, or accidentally ingested by children. Generally, the external antenna comprises two types, namely engaging type and rotatable type.
Please refer to FIG. 1. FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an engaging antenna 10 of the prior art. The engaging antenna 10 of the prior art comprises an engaging hook 12 and a plastic shell 14. The plastic shell 14 is usually manufactured by injection molding and includes an antenna metal tube therein. The plastic shell 14 comprises an outer portion 16 and an engaging portion 18. The shape of the engaging portion 18 conforms to the shape of the antenna hole of the wireless communication device. When the engaging antenna 10 of the prior art is combined with the wireless communication device, the engaging hook 12 is forced to change shape so that the engaging hook 12 can pass through the antenna hole of the wireless communication device with the engaging portion 18 together. After passing through the antenna hole, the engaging hook 12 springs back due to its elasticity and is then engaged with the wireless communication device. Therefore, the engaging antenna 10 can engage the wireless communication device, and the user cannot separate the engaging antenna 10 from the wireless communication device from the outside of the communication device.
Please refer to FIG. 2. FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a rotatable antenna 20 of the prior art. The principal part of the rotatable antenna 20 of the prior art is a metal tube 22 that has a screw thread 26. An antenna shell 24 covers one end of the metal tube 22. The other end of the metal tube 22 has the screw thread 26 where the rotatable antenna 20 is attached to the wireless communication device. Moreover, the antenna hole of the wireless communication device has a corresponding nut. The engagement of both the rotatable antenna 20 and the wireless communication device utilizes the screw thread 26 of the metal tube 22 and the corresponding nut inside the antenna hole. This method, which utilizes the screw thread and the nut for combination, enables a tight engagement between the antenna and the wireless communication device.
Compared to the engaging antenna 10 in FIG. 1 and the rotatable antenna 20 in FIG. 2, the engaging antenna 10 is fixed to the mobile phone only by the plastic shell 14, the antenna is easily loosened, and the transmission of signals is usually unstable. On the contrary, the engagement of the rotatable antenna 20 and the wireless communication device is more stable by utilizing a screw thread and a nut combination. However, the user can easily unscrew the rotatable antenna 20 to separate it from the wireless communication device, and thus the antenna may be lost or accidentally ingested by children.
Therefore, the present invention provides an antenna engaging mechanism to tightly engage the antenna to the wireless communication device and prevent the antenna from being separated from the wireless communication device, so as to address the problems of the prior art.